The Police Quest Casebook
The Police Quest Casebook is an officially authorized guide to the Police Quest Series written by Peter Scisco. Background The Casebook was published by the same publishers that published the King's Quest Companion (and KQ7 Authorized Guide) and Space Quest Companion. Similar to the Official Book of Police Quest, it contains novelizations of the early Police Quest games, as well as hint guides for each game. The first edition covers Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel (EGA) (and its remake), Police Quest II and Police Quest III. The second edition added Police Quest: Open Season, and an interview with Daryl F. Gates. Throughout the book are sections called "On the Beat" that give insight into how actual police procedures amd real life may might vary from actions and events in the Police Quest series. Whereas the Official Book of Police Quest offers more direct novelizations of the games themselves said to be taken from the case files and Sonny Bonds' journal, the novels in the Casebook are described as "ficticious stories based in the actions of the game series", as such they are not direct adaptations of the game's plot, and have a unique look at the Police Quest universe. Further more it states: :To that end, I hope that Police Quest players, whether old fans or newcomers, will find the fictional accounts of Carey and Bonds a worthwhile addition to their gaming experience. Certainly, there have been a lot of changes to the Police Quest characters over the years. The novelization for PQ1 is a mix of characters from both the original and the remake, and also offers its own twists to the story. Some of the characters from PQ1 reprise their roles in the PQ2 and PQ3 novels linking the three stories more closely together as a narrative. The hintbook sections (which are chapters after each novel) follow the games directly and describe the events, actions, and puzzle solutions of the games themselves. One of the other major sections is the character biography section, which is largely inspired by the characters as they appear in the games (rather than characters from the novels), and in some cases offer extended bio, or conclusion to the events related to the games (rather than the novels), for example as is the case for Mitchell Thurman (which offers continuation of the events of the game, rather than the novel for PQ4). Some of the novelization material of original PQ Sonny trilogy is abridged in the 2nd edition, removing some of the scenes, including an entire 'chapter/section' of PQ1 novelization (involving an encounter with Helen Hots) and some other changed content (Sonny's opinion of "Ben Bulwar" in the first PQ1 novel is more intense depending on the edition). Editions *First Edition - Covered Police Quest 1-3, including the remake of Police Quest I. *Second Edition - Covered Police Quest 1-4, included an interview with Chief Daryl F. Gates. Novelizations In some cases the novelizations include extra scenes not seen in the game and minor scenes are shortened or removed. Some scenes diverge from the game's narrative. For example, in the adaptation of Police Quest II, Sonny Bonds stops the terrorists on the flight to Steelton, but nearly causes the plane to crash after he misses and shoots a hole through a window (there is no time bomb on the plane). Sonny Bonds is not praised by Deputy Sky Marshall for saving everyone on board, instead he is reprimanded for endangering the passengers. Other differences include locations or characters given alternate names. In some cases characters are removed or merged/replaced with other characters. For example when Sonny infiltrates Bains' apartment, his backup include Laura Watts (Casebook), Lt. Morgan and Oscar Hamilton (Casebook), instead of Anglin/Angland and Smith. In the novelization of Police Quest II, Laura Watts has transferred to Burglary rather than having retired as mentioned in the game. In another example in the adaptation of Police Quest 3, Mr. Smith is replaced by George Pate (Casebook) from the novelization of Police Quest I, and Fletcher Hall (Casebook) is used in place of Captain Reginald Tate. Captain Tate is mentioned briefly in a newspaper article by Ben Bulwer (Casebook) written after Michael Bains' arrest. Another major difference is that the burning house at 500 West Peach is Pat Morales (Casebook)' house in the story, rather than Steve Rocklin's. Morales also appears in the photo of Jessie and Micheal Bains, tying her more directly into the Bains family (as half-sister). While in the game Sonny Bonds obtains a warrant to search the crack house on 522 West Palm, in the novelization Morales' involvement leads Internal Affairs and Keith Robinson (Casebook) to obtain the warrant - although he does not appear at all in the game. The novelization of Open Season differs from the game with the inclusion of Jim Varaz as Carey's partner. At some point in the story after Hal Bottoms (Casebook) is shot and injured during a shoot out, Varaz joins Carey as his new partner, while he travels across Los Angeles, helping to question witnesses and collecting evidence. This ultimately leads to Varaz assisting Carey in the search of Third Eye Theatre. Varaz enters the building just before Carey, who enters later after searching the surrounding area. Carey discovers a trap door in the building leading into a darkened passage, and assumes Varaz had entered without calling for backup. Carey enters the passage and discovers it leads into a nearby home. He discovers Thurman in the kitchen holding a knife, and washing Varaz's head in a sink. Overall, the novel for PQ1 sticks mainly to the details of the original Police quest, with a few minor details incorporated from the remake (and the inclusion of some characters from PQ2 and PQ3). The adaptation for Police Quest 2 diverges from the storyline in a few events, such as the details of the hijacking and Bains' death. The adaptations of Police Quest 3 and Open Season stray heavily the furthest from versions of the stories seen in the game. Open Season's ending differs significantly from the narrative in the game. According to the author his reasoning for taking artistic license with the characters and stories was: :The walkthroughs, maps, and points lists are straightforward enough. But it might do some good to talk here a little about the novelizations. My idea in writing these accounts was to give depth to the characters involved in the Police Quest games. Although any player can find enjoyment playing the role of John Carey or Sonny Bonds, the characterizations in computer role-playing games are not nearly as well defined as those in movies or books. That's understandable, given the short time that this form of interactive entertainment has been around. It's a new art form just beginning to find its wings, and it will be some time yet before the depth of the theater comes to the computer screen. :To that end, I hope that Police Quest players, whether old fans or newcomers, will find the fictional accounts of Carey and Bonds a worthwhile addition to their gaming experience. Certainly, there have been a lot of changes to the Police Quest characters over the years. :hen Sonny Bonds was created back in 1987, he was given all the attributes of a gentleman, a forthright police officer with good manners. But it doesn't take too many conversations with cops to find out that good manners don't mean much to a punk with a gun or a dope dealer stealing profits-and lives-from children. So I gave Sonny an edge, a little black humor that keeps him going through the tough times. :Sonny's relationship with Marie Wilkans is probably the most complicated issue in the first three games of the series.First Edition: "Sonny's relationship with Marie Wilkans is probably the most complicated issue in the entire series." It would make a story in itself, the tale of a cop and the prostitute he saved from the streets. Most of us have seen this story already on late-night TY, but it helps to define Sonny in a way that is completely separate from his work as a cop. I tried to present Sonny and Marie as complicated, confused, and complex-real people. This kind of relationship cannot exist without doubts and its share of trouble, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily doomed. :John Carey is another piece of work altogether. In many ways, the Carey character is much more of a blank canvas than the Sonny Bonds character. Carey has all the basic elements of a good police detective, but it's really up to the player to develop the way Carey moves through Police Quest: Open Season. This latest version of the game is much more open ended; it makes for a more compelling game, in which the player can actually don the mantel of John Carey, without inheriting all of the emotional and psychological baggage that accompanies Sonny Bonds. The original edition had some additional commentary in the introduction (to further explain the angle the author took): :Certain elements of the novelizations-the "On the Beat" sections, for example-were compiled with the help of actual law enforcement officials. I hope this added sense of realism enhances your enjoyment of the game series. :The way I see Sonny Bonds may be different from the way any other player might see him. I know that when he was created back in 1987, he was thought to be a gentleman, a forthright police officer with good manners... The Acknowledgments page mentions the law enforcement personnel that the author consulted for the purpose of his adaptations: :Gregory Kranich, Gary Utter, Dave Flory, Ellen Connally, Giles Shine, Ed Wilson, and Tim Dees for their professional comments that found their way into the book as "On the Beat" sections. These people, and the other participants on these networks, are all working in law enforcement-whether as police officers, prosecutors, or in some other capacity. Their comments were not only useful, but they provided an interesting and realistic backdrop to my imaginary stories. The 2nd Edition added a thank you to Daryl F. Gates. :And speaking of police officers, a special thanks to Daryl F. Gates who was generous and good natured enough to take on the Police Quest project, and who provided a thoughtful and insightful interview for the readers of this book. Notably some might notice that Jim Walls is not mentioned in either book, this is more to do with the fact that he had already left the company by the time the 1st Edition had been released. Chapters Below is the list of Chapters in the Second Edition. Acknowledgements and Forward In these sections Peter Scisco discusses how he was requested to write the book, acknowledges those who helped him, discusses the contents of the book, and his processes of adapting the stories into novelizations. Part I: POlice Quest: Open Season Chapter 1: Recipe for Death Novelization of Police Quest: Open Season. Chapter 2: Blue Knight, Black Night Walkthrough of Police Quest: Open Season Chapter 3 Points of Evidence Chapter 4 Maps Chapter 5 Behind the Badge: An interview with The Chief-Daryl F. Gates Part II: Police Quest 1: In Persuit of the Death Angel Chapter 6: Death Angel, Sweet Angel Noveliztion of Police Quest 1: In persuit of the Death Angel. Chapter 7: The Blue Knight Walks Chapter 8: Points of Evidence Chapter 9: Maps Part III: Police Quest II: The Vengeance Police Quest 2: The Vengeance Chapter 10: A Meal Served Cold Novelization of PQ2 Chapter 11: The Blue Knight Walks Again Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Part IV: Police Quest 3: The Kindred Chapter 14: Cult of the Mad Novelization of PQ3 Chapter 15: The Blue Knight Walks Yet Again Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Part V: The Academy Chapter 18: Call for Backup Chapter 19 Mug Shots and Profiles References Category:Fiction Category:TPQC